Department for Transport

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum: Correspondence

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) veracity and (b) implications for his policies of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum estimate that 480 lorries will be queuing outside naval bases in Portsmouth in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal included in its response to his correspondence of 23 September 2020.

Rachel Maclean: The Department for Transport (DfT) has made its own estimates of the potential for disruption around key ports at the end of the transition period. In the case of Portsmouth Port the DfT estimates suggest that even under a reasonable worst case scenario queues of HGVs attempting to enter Portsmouth Port would be considerably lower than the 480 referenced in the question. Nevertheless, there remains a risk of disruption at several ports, including Portsmouth, at the end of transition period. The Department for Transport is working closely with Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) across the country, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LRF, as they develop locally appropriate plans to manage any potential disruption.

Aviation: Government Assistance

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to help prevent job losses in the aviation sector.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport is actively monitoring the impact on jobs in the aviation sector from Covid-19 at the national and regional level, with support from other government Departments. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been available to businesses affected by COVID-19 to pay wages. The Job Support Scheme will replace the scheme from 1 November, where businesses can also take advantage of the Job Retention Bonus.

Taxis: Licensing

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities have (a) offered structural payment plans and (b) provided three month delays to payments for annual taxi licence renewals since March 2020.

Rachel Maclean: The Department for Transport has encouraged all licensing authorities to consider ways in which they can support the trade to continue to operate and provide essential travel. Any measures that authorities elect to introduce are a matter for them. The Department does not hold any data on payment plans or payment deferrals offered by licensing authorities.

Alternative Fuels: Investment

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of investment in the production of non fossil fuels for transport in the UK of removing derogation c from paragraph 6.84 of the 2018 RTFO Carbon and Sustainability Guidance in the updated guidance published in January 2020; what steps he is taking to incentivise the production of non fossil fuels for transport in the UK; and what commitments he has made to the decarbonisation of the public transport network.

Rachel Maclean: The Department’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Guidance version 2020, Part One and Part Two, still provides that “derogation c.” applies. The Department has no current plans to remove the derogation, but it is now in Part One, paragraph 3.43, of the guidance. Non-fossil fuels, including renewable hydrogen, are incentivised under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), a certificate trading scheme. Renewable hydrogen is categorised as a development fuel, which potentially benefits from a higher tradeable certificate value. At the end of March, we published a document “Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge”, kicking off our work on preparing a Transport Decarbonisation Plan. This holistic and cross-modal approach to decarbonising the entire transport system, including public transport, will set out a credible and ambitious pathway to delivering transport’s contribution to carbon budgets and meet net zero by 2050.

Large Goods Vehicles: Alternative Fuels

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department is providing for alternative fuel sources for large vehicles that travel long distances.

Rachel Maclean: The Department’s £20 million Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial launched in 2017, supporting industry-led research and development projects, including for alternative fuels. The £23 million Hydrogen for Transport Programme, launched in 2017, funded the deployment of hydrogen vehicles and refuelling stations. The Department’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition has made up to £20m of capital funding available to projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels to be used in aeroplanes and lorries. The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation incentivises the supply of low carbon fuels to all modes of road transport, including HGVs. Further plans for decarbonising freight will form part of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

Acceleration Unit: Staff

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the non-Government specialists working for the Transport Acceleration Unit.

Andrew Stephenson: The Acceleration Unit will be assisted in its work by an expert panel with industry experience including Highways England’s Director of Complex Infrastructure projects, Chris Taylor and Mark Reynolds Chief Executive of Mace.

Acceleration Unit

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) mission statement and (b) objectives are of his Department's Acceleration Unit; and for what reasons that Unit was established.

Andrew Stephenson: The Acceleration Unit was established with the overall objective of accelerating key transport projects and programmes. The work of the Acceleration Unit is driven by the need to build back better, to level up the country and to decarbonise transport.

Acceleration Unit: Public Appointments

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the post of Director of his Department's Acceleration Unit was advertised; and what the remuneration is for that post.

Andrew Stephenson: The Director of the Acceleration Unit has been appointed on a fixed term basis in line with Civil Service Recruitment Principles. The remuneration for the post is in line with Senior Civil Service Pay Scales.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum: Correspondence

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has responded to the letter of 1 October 2020 from the Chairs of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: Department for Transport (DfT) officials are in regular contact with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum (LRF) and have been working closely with HM Treasury to consider the funding issues raised by Hampshire and other LRFs. On 21 October HM Treasury approved funding for a small number of LRFs with high volume EU facing Roll-on Roll-off ports within their jurisdiction, including for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LRF. DfT will write to affected LRFs to confirm details shortly.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Business

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting a minimum threshold for the involvement of UK companies in the High Speed Two project.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department for Transport has not assessed the potential merits of setting a minimum threshold for the involvement of UK PLC in HS2. UK procurement law does not permit public sector bodies to set targets for goods and services based on country-specific locations. However, HS2 Ltd has an excellent track record of supporting British businesses; over 2,000 businesses have delivered work so far on HS2, of which 98% are UK-based, and 70% of which are SMEs. The project already has 13,000 workers in the UK employed on it and the construction of Phase One will see HS2 create and sustain a further 22,000 jobs over the coming years, with many more in businesses and factories around the country through an estimated 400,000 supply chain contract opportunities. HS2 Ltd estimate that 95% of those contract opportunities will be won by UK based businesses, with around two thirds being SMEs.HS2 Ltd continues to undertake procurement activity in line with the established legal framework governed by the Utilities Contracts Regulations under which it operates.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Treasury's Green Book provides scope for his Department to prioritise the UK supply chain in the High Speed Two project.

Andrew Stephenson: HS2 Ltd operates in line with current UK public procurement law, specifically the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016. It is therefore a legal requirement that, across the project, it conducts all procurement activity on a fair, equal and transparent basis that does not discriminate by location. While complying to these principles, the High Speed Two project continues to provide significant opportunities for the UK supply chain with 97% of businesses in the supply chain being UK businesses.

Acceleration Unit: Recruitment

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the role of member of his Department's Acceleration Unit was advertised; what the required skills are for that post; and what the remuneration for that post is.

Andrew Stephenson: While the unit is established current appointments have been made on a temporary basis. Role profiles setting out the skills and experience needed within the unit were developed. Potential candidates were assessed against these criteria, this included an internal expression of interest, identified named individuals and applications from wider transport organisations who would join the department on secondment. Where fair and open competition has not been used, all appointments have been in line with the agreed Exceptions to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. Remuneration for posts is in line with DfT Pay Scales.

Acceleration Unit: Accountability

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to help ensure the accountability of his Department's Acceleration Unit.

Andrew Stephenson: The Acceleration Unit will be directly accountable to the Secretary of State and is expected to engage with key stakeholders and colleagues across the department, government, and industry on a range of projects and programmes at varying stages of their lifecycle to deliver the best possible outcome from accelerating their delivery. The Acceleration Unit Director, Darren Shirley, will assess the effectiveness of its activities and report weekly to the Secretary of State.

Driving Tests

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are waiting for a (a) theory and (b) practical driving test; how many of those tests are available; and what steps he has discussed with the DVSA to increase the availability of those tests.

Rachel Maclean: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is restoring its testing services with new COVID safe procedures in place to keep people safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus. As the DVSA has been unable to provide its normal level of service for the past seven months, demand for theory and practical driving tests are higher than usual. As of 20 October 2020:346,966 candidates in the UK have a car theory test booked and are waiting to sit the test.370,984 candidates in the UK have a practical car test booked and are waiting to sit the test. The DVSA is working with its theory test supplier to extend opening hours and add additional days where local lockdown restrictions allow. There are over 709,000 theory tests available for candidates to book until the end of January 2021, and an additional 151,290 test slots up to the end of February 2021. In remote areas of Scotland, where possible, the DVSA has replaced the Mobile Testing Vehicle (MTV) with alternative venues to provide theory tests, and increased availability of appointments by extending opening/closing times with landlord agreement. In Wales, the DVSA has made an additional 82 theory test slots available (week commencing 19 October) to compensate for the lack of testing in the next fortnight due to the Welsh fire-breaker. It is reducing the levels of potential reschedules by allowing candidates to move tests forward. The DVSA has also made over 375,000 practical car slots available to the end of January 2021, and an additional 85,000 test slots up to the end of February 2021. From 19 October, driving examiners increased the number of tests they conduct from five to six per day, which should help to reduce waiting times.

Bus Services: Coronavirus

Sara Britcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will put plans in place to provide financial support to the coach industry.

Rachel Maclean: We have announced several financial support measures available to UK businesses, including the coach industry. This includes measures announced on 24 September as part of the Winter Economy Plan. Further support was announced by the Chancellor on 22 October for businesses in local lockdown areas, in addition to changes to the Job Support Scheme (JSS), and increased business grants. In addition, we are supporting coaches to be used for school transport and public transport, where appropriate. The Department for Education has provided over £70 million to local transport authorities to provide additional dedicated school and college capacity in our transport system, including coaches. We continue to work closely with representatives from the coach sector including the Confederation of Passenger Transport, and with other government departments, to understand the ongoing risks and issues, including demand considerations and how these could be addressed.

Driving Licences: Internet

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to tackle websites which charge excessive fees for helping drivers to renew their licence; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) strongly advises drivers only to use Gov.Uk when applying for or renewing a driving licence. The law allows third-party websites to offer a front-end application provision to some Government services and to set their own fees. These websites are overseen by OFCOM and the Phone Paid Service Authority (PSA). Websites that do not operate within the OFCOM and PSA guidelines, or which are misleading or malicious, can be removed from the internet by these organisations. Where websites are found to be misleading or acting maliciously there are procedures in place which allow them to be taken down quickly. However, no action can be taken against sites that are operating within the rules even though they may charge fees for services that the DVLA provides more cheaply or free of charge. Tighter guidelines for third party websites were introduced by OFCOM and the PSA in October 2019. The guidelines stipulate that all promotional material must be distinct in appearance from that of the organisation being sought by the consumer. Promotions must not use descriptions, colour, typeface, logos or marks which imitate, or may be perceived to imitate the organisation the consumer is seeking, nor should any official logos or marks of those organisations be used. Promotions are also prohibited from implying that the information being provided cannot be obtained elsewhere.

Railways: Fares

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to make rail fares more flexible for commuters in (a) St Austell and Newquay constituency and (b) throughout the UK to reflect the change in working patterns (i) during and (ii) after the covid-19 outbreak.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Government recognises that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a fundamental change in working patterns and that this could have long-term effects on commuter behaviours. In response, the Department for Transport has proactively worked with the rail industry, and is currently considering proposals received from train operators, including Great Western Railway, to try to ensure better value and convenience for part-time and flexible commuters.

Railways: Fares

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reform the regulations governing rail fares to reflect changes in working patterns throughout the UK.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government remains committed to modernising rail fares and ticketing and recognises that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a fundamental change in working patterns which could have long-term effects on commuter behaviours. We are actively considering how we can modernise our fares and ticketing offer, to develop more convenient and better value options for passengers. However, these are unprecedented times and our immediate focus is on ensuring that we keep the railway available and safe for those who rely upon it.

Medway Valley Line

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the compliance of the decision by Southeastern to curtail the majority of services on the Medway Valley Line at Paddock Wood instead of Tonbridge with Appendix 4 to Schedule 1, Schedule 1.1, Part 2, Paragraphs 11, 11.1 b i and ii of the Southeastern Emergency Measures Agreement with his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As part of COVID related timetable changes, to protect performance across the network during the pandemic and ensure key workers can continue to move across the network, some Medway Valley services now turn at Paddock Wood, to avoid interactions with Main line services and to reduce the need for unplanned skip-stopping on the Main line. The services that were removed had an average loading of 5 passengers at Tonbridge; the change has resulted in approximately 12 minutes additional travel time for these passengers. However, the current service delivers an overall significant performance improvement for a much larger number of passengers across the network.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many green homes grants have been awarded by his Department in the first month of that scheme being open to applications.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Green Homes Grant opened to applications on the 30 September 2020. As of midday on 21 October 2020, 22,013 grant applications have been received. BEIS will continue to monitor application data as the scheme progresses.

Batteries: Waste Disposal

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK skill base for recycling and disposal of lithium ion batteries; and what plans the Government has to manage demand for those services.

Kwasi Kwarteng: To maximise on the economic and environmental opportunities of a transition to zero emission vehicles, the UK Government is supporting the creation of a circular economy for electric vehicle batteries.The future demand for the recycling and disposal of lithium ion batteries and the UK skills base in this area has been assessed by Government and research into battery re-cycling, and the large scale industrialisation, is currently being undertaken.To support this vital work, we have committed £318m to the Faraday Battery Challenge to fund the research, development and scale-up of world-leading battery technology in the UK. The innovation strand of the Faraday Battery Challenge is supporting several business-led collaborative R&D projects on reuse and recycle of electric vehicle batteries.Policy is being formulated based on this research and Government is committed to building on the Faraday research programmes to ensure that we meet the skills and demand required to support this growing industry.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the introduction of a UK emissions trading system.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government is working closely with the Devolved Administrations on establishing a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS). Ministers and officials in BEIS have regular discussions with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive on a range of energy and climate change issues, including the introduction of a UK ETS.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many providers have been approved for accredited services under the new green homes grant in (a) the UK and (b) each region in England.

Kwasi Kwarteng: As of 26 October, TrustMark has registered 1,108 businesses able to install the primary and/or secondary measures supported by the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme.

Energy: Infrastructure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his review of National Policy Statements for energy, which Statements will be reviewed; whether the Statements under review will be active during the review; what his timescale is for that review; and if he will make a statement.

Kwasi Kwarteng: My Rt Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will confirm his intention and the timeframe for any review as part of the forthcoming energy white paper.

Renewable Energy: Subsidies

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will review the eligibility criteria for Government green subsidies to enable more community buildings to access  funding to install renewable energy sources.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The £10m Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) provides non-capital grant support to rural communities in England. RCEF grants cover the costs for feasibility and further project development work to bring community renewable energy projects to an investment-ready stage. The RCEF eligibility criteria ensures funding is only allocated to projects that demonstrate value to the taxpayer.The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) gives small scale low-carbon electricity generators, including community energy projects, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid. There are currently more than 10 SEG tariffs on offer from electricity suppliers, which small scale generators can choose from.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will extend the Green Homes Grant for 12 months to March 2022 to (a) allow the full uptake of the scheme and (b) help stimulate new green jobs.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government is committed to improving the building stock as part of reaching our net zero targets. We recognise the importance of providing industry with certainty over demand in future years in order for them to have confidence to invest and grow their businesses.We are working to provide that certainty and have therefore confirmed that the delivery dates for Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator will extend into 2021/22 to provide assurance that work will be available. Outside of support schemes, we are creating the regulatory environment to drive retrofit and on 30th September we published a consultation on further improving the energy performance of privately rented homes over the 2020s, which provides a clear signal on how Government is committed to improving the housing stock.

Housing: Heating

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 October 2020 to Question 97618 on Housing: Heating, what date his Department plans to publish the Heat and Buildings Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government is developing options for a how a long-term framework of policy approaches, including regulation, can combine to provide a clear direction-of-travel for industry and accelerate the uptake of low-carbon heat, initiate a transformation of our building stock, and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings. Our Heat and Buildings Strategy will be published in due course.

Heating: Carbon Emissions

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the findings of his Department's consultation on Future support for low carbon heat.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The government response to the Future Support for Low Carbon Heat consultation will be published in due course.

Heating: Carbon Emissions

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a heat decarbonisation strategy in lieu of the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating as part of an ambitious programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings.

Electricity Interconnectors: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of interruptions to (a) scrutiny of and (b) consultation on the Aquind Interconnector project as a result of the covid-19 outbreak on public confidence in that project.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Planning Inspectorate is responsible for the conduct of examinations into applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects. The examination of the application for the proposed Aquind Interconnector project is being carried out by The Planning Inspectorate in accordance with Government advice for dealing with such matters during the Covid-19 outbreak. The Planning Inspectorate is mindful of the need to ensure fairness and open access to all parties throughout the examination process.The Planning Inspectorate’s report on the development consent application for the Aquind Interconnector will be carefully considered once it is submitted to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to extend the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive at its current funding level.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government consulted on the future of the Non-Domestic RHI scheme in April 2020 and set out its intent to close the scheme at the end of March 2021. The consultation closed on the 7th July and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government response will be published in due course.

Business: Equal Pay

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which organisations the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets has met with to discuss mandatory pay gap reporting in the last month.

Paul Scully: Details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department are recorded in our transparency data, which is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Business: Morley and Outwood

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses have closed in Morley and Outwood constituency since March 2020.

Paul Scully: The Office for National Statistics has published information on business closures up to September 2020, but this is at a regional level and is not broken down to a constituency level. Information at a regional level for quarter 2 2020 (April to June 2020) and quarter 3 2020 (July to September 2020) on business closures forms part of ‘Business demography, quarterly experimental statistics, UK: July to September 2020.https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/businessdemographyquarterlyexperimentalstatisticsuk/julytoseptember2020

Coronavirus: Wakefield

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 restrictions on local economies in the Wakefield area.

Paul Scully: Just over £66 million has been provided to businesses in Wakefield via the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund in the Financial Year 2020/21 Leeds City Region Growth Hub has been allocated £780k to engage and support businesses, including in Wakefield. The Government has made clear that where businesses are required to close as part of localised restrictions being put in place to manage the spread of covid-19, further financial support will be made available.

Coronavirus: Leeds

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 restrictions on local economies in the Leeds area.

Paul Scully: Just over £155 million has been provided to businesses in Leeds via the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and in the Financial Year 2020/21 Leeds City Region Growth Hub has been allocated £780k to engage with businesses in this area. The Government has made clear that where businesses are required to close as part of localised restrictions being put in place to manage the spread of covid-19, further financial support will be made available.

Ethnic Groups: Pay

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government will publish its response to the consultation on Ethnicity pay reporting, which closed on 11th January 2019.

Paul Scully: Following the consultation, Government met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers to reporting and explore what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken. We also ran a voluntary methodology testing exercise with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation using real payroll data. The Government is continuing to analyse this data and will respond in due course.

Race in the Workplace Review

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to recommendation 26 of the report Race in the workplace: the McGregor-Smith review, published on 28 February 2017, what assessment he has made of whether (a) the recommendations of that review have been implemented and (b) the need for government action to ensure their implementation.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government has taken to monitor progress against the recommendations of the Race in the workplace: the McGregor-Smith review, published on 28 February 2017.

Paul Scully: A one-year on review of how employers in the UK are performing against the recommendations outlined in the McGregor-Smith Review ‘Race in the workplace’ was conducted in 2018 by Business in The Community and was sponsored by BEIS. As the Government said in its response to the ‘McGregor-Smith Review’, this was an industry-led review with recommendations that are mostly for the private sector to consider. The Government remains committed to building an economy that works for everyone. This is a mission that needs to start from the top – Chairs, CEOs, and CFOs – to help effect the change and Government stands ready to support all businesses on this. As the Government noted in its response, it is important that all employers play their part in harnessing this potential.

Department of Health and Social Care

Social Services

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a Green Paper on social care.

Helen Whately: The Government’s current priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.We know we need a long-term solution for social care and are looking at a range of proposals as part of our commitment to bringing forward a strategy that puts the sector on a sustainable footing for the future.

Social Services: Reform

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2020 to Question 74439 on Social Services: Reform, what the Government's timetable is for publishing its proposals on reforms to the social care system.

Helen Whately: The Government’s current one priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

Social Services

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the White Paper on social care.

Helen Whately: The Government’s current priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and tackle one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

Home Care Services: Coronavirus

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure domiciliary care workers are regularly tested for covid-19.

Helen Whately: Asymptomatic testing for domiciliary care workers (also known as home care workers) is guided by the results from the Public Health England prevalence study into domiciliary care. This study found that COVID-19 prevalence among domiciliary care workers was similar to prevalence in the general population. Regular testing for the domiciliary care workforce is was not advised unless recommended by local risk assessments or in response to local outbreaks. Symptomatic staff should continue to access priority testing via the pillar 2 testing service. We are currently reviewing the implications of increased infection rates for asymptomatic testing in domiciliary care.

Abortion: Drugs

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many abortions have taken place at 10 weeks' gestation and above from 1 January 2020 where either (a) both sets of abortion pills were taken at home or (b) the second abortion pill was taken at home.

Helen Whately: Between January to June 2020, notifications on form HSA4 indicate that abortions took place at 10 weeks gestation or above where both sets of pills were taken at home (out of a total number of 23,061 abortions) and 40 abortions took place at 10 weeks gestation or above where only the second set of pills was taken at home (out of a total number of 30,977 abortions). This is out of a total number of 54,038 abortions where either both sets or one set of the abortion pills was taken at home.

Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to lay regulations under Section 6(3)(b) of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish draft guidance on the operation of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to enact the changes contained in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to enact Section 4 of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 relating to Codes of Practice.

Helen Whately: The Government aims for full implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), as set out in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, for April 2022.The Department is drafting a Code of Practice and secondary legislation for the implementation of LPS. Both will be subject to public consultation in spring 2021. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the Government plans to lay the Code and regulations before Parliament in the autumn of that year.The Department is also working with stakeholders from across the local government, health and social care sectors to develop workforce plans to ensure that implementation is a success.

Social Workers: Mental Health

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to extend bursaries for student mental health social workers.

Helen Whately: Final year students in receipt of the bursary whose studies were disrupted by the pandemic will receive a pro-rated 2019/20 bursary for the period of their course extension to enable them to complete their studies.The NHS Business Services Authority administer the social work bursaries and we would encourage any student who needs a course extension to speak directly to their university who can advise on requesting one through the NHS Business Services Authority process.

Social Services: Finance

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding he plans to allocate to local authorities to support the reopening of social care day centres that closed due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: On 17 September 2020, the Government announced that it would provide a further £546 million to adult social care through the Infection Control Fund, alongside the Adult Social Care Winter Plan. Whilst the majority of this funding is for regulated care homes and community care provision, local authorities may allocate 20% for other COVID-19 infection control measures. This may include expenditure on infection control measures to support the resumption of day services. This is in addition to the £600million Infection Control Fund and £3.7 billion already provided to local authorities to address pressures on local services caused by COVID-19, including adult social care.

Arthritis: Medical Treatments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase funding for research into innovative advanced therapies and medicines for (a) rheumatoid arthritis and (b) other inflammatory immune-mediated conditions.

Edward Argar: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including innovative advanced therapies and medicines for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at the following link:https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/Advanced cellular, molecular and gene therapies will play an increasingly important part in the future of healthcare in the United Kingdom. The Stem Cell Strategic Forum has included advanced therapies in its remit since 2019; it provides high quality clinical and scientific advice to the Department.

Diabetes and Heart Diseases: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding for research into a possible connection between teenage heart disease and maternal diabetes.

Edward Argar: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is the largest public funder of health research in the United Kingdom.The NIHR funds a range of research in maternal and neonatal health focussing on the safety of maternity and neonatal services. The NIHR is not currently funding any specific research into a possible connection between teenage heart disease and maternal diabetes, but welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence a proportion of its budget for research into particular topics or conditions.

Noradrenaline

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the use of noradrenaline throughout the NHS in England in each month of 2020.

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of demand for noradrenaline during the remainder of 2020-21.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement undertake regular monitoring of the demand and supply position for priority medicines including noradrenaline. A table showing this information is attached.We cannot make accurate projections of demand going forward. However, we have used the information regarding first wave usage to inform mitigations for a second wave, such as stockpiling.

Social Services: Disability

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with disabled people on the effect of the suspension of the Care Act 2014 in the Coronavirus Act 2020 on access to social care.

Helen Whately: Since the start of the pandemic, I have met frequently with stakeholder groups, Care Act Easements have been discussed.The Department has used a number of routes to gather evidence on the use and impact of temporary easements to the Care Act 2014. Departmental officials, including the Chief Social Workers, have been working with the Principal Social Worker Network and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) to gather local intelligence and are satisfied that any easements have been considered and communicated in line with the Ethical Framework for Social Care.ADASS and Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) have been engaging with local authorities operating under easements, and those that did not, to understand lessons learned from this period. A TLAP Insight Group has been meeting regularly to coordinate intelligence of TLAP partners on the impact and views of people accessing care and support and unpaid carers. TLAP published their report on 13 October.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what restrictions are in place on visits to children and young people aged under 25 who are autistic and/or have learning disabilities and who are detained in mental health hospitals located in the (a) Bolton, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Leicester, (d) Northampton, (Greencore only), (e) North East of England, (f) North West of England, (g) West Midlands and (h) West Yorkshire areas subject to local lockdown regulations.

Helen Whately: There is national guidance on arrangements for visitors on all hospital sites. The current guidance was published on the 5 June 2020 and a revised version is due for publication imminently.The general guidance has been supplemented by a letter from the NHS England National Mental Health Director and the National Director of Learning Disability and Autism to providers of services for patients with a mental health and/or learning disability and/or autism, which was issued on the 22 September 2020. This letter reinforces the importance of enabling families to visit and stresses the need for risk assessments to be completed if by exception visiting needs to be restricted.

Department for Education

Schools: North West Durham

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding schools in North West Durham constituency have received as part of the (a) National Tutoring Programme and (b) universal catch-up premium for schools.

Nick Gibb: The attached table shows the allocations and payments to schools in the North West Durham parliamentary constituency for the COVID-19 catch-up premium.The values represented in the attached table are the initial payments made in the autumn based on a proportion of a provisional allocation calculated using the published rates and school census data from October 2019. The final allocations will be re-calculated once the October 2020 school census data is available and a further payment made in early 2021. The remaining allocation will then be paid in a final instalment later in 2021.There is no data currently available for the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). The NTP is not yet live and so we do not have any information about participants. We expect our first group of tutors to be working with schools from November with provision ramping up into the Spring Term. Next month, we will announce a list of approved Tuition Partners. Schools will be able to approach these partners to access subsidised tuition. We will also be appointing our first wave of academic mentors, matching suitable candidates to schools that have expressed an interest in working with a mentor.106511_Table (xls, 2028.5KB)

Ministry of Justice

Civil Proceedings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is making an assessment of the potential effect on (a) the backlog of civil cases and (b) access to justice of a mechanism for the alternative dispute resolution of minor personal injury cases for the new small claims portal.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what modelling he has undertaken on the potential effect of changes in trends in the number of low-value personal injury cases coming before HM Civil Courts in the event that an alternative dispute mechanism is not available through the small claims portal before April 2021.

Chris Philp: Civil claims backlog data is not held by the Department. However, a revised impact assessment in relation to the forthcoming Statutory Instruments will be published in due course.The Official Injury Claims portal is designed to be simple and easy to use. However, there will be occasions where claimants will need to be able to resolve disputes with the at-fault compensator. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) was initially proposed to resolve these, but as announced in a written Ministerial Statement published on 27 February 2020 no practicable solution for ADR could be found and it would not form part of the service. The full statement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/implementation-of-the-whiplash-reform-programmeThe Government remains committed to ensuring access to justice, and unrepresented claimants will have access to a new accessible bespoke court process to enable any such disputes to be settled.We are also working closely with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to understand the operational impacts of these new processes on the civil justice system and we will keep this matter under review, following implementation.

Civil Proceedings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil cases are awaiting a hearing in (a) each and (b) all civil courts in England and Wales; and what the quarterly increase was in cases awaiting a hearing between January and March, April and June and July and September 2020.

Chris Philp: The information requested is not held. We use a variety of management information to measure the work in the civil courts, including but not limited to, the volume of incoming receipts and defences along with timeliness of case progression. However, specific data relating to backlog is not held. Quarterly statistics are held at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of rates of assaults on prison staff by custody categories (a) male A, (b) male B, (c) male C, (d) male D, (e) female restricted, (f) female closed, (g) female open, (h) young offender institution and (i) youth custody; and during (i) daytime and (ii) night-time, in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The rates of assaults on prison staff by prison categorisation is set out in the attached table. Violence against our hard-working prison officers is unacceptable, and we work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to bring the perpetrators to justice. Additionally, as outlined in our Sentencing White Paper, we will double the maximum sentence for assaulting an emergency worker from 12 months to two years. We are also giving officers PAVA pepper spray and body-worn cameras to make their jobs safer, as well as access to post incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for those who need it. More widely, we are spending £100 million to bolster prison security, clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence and crime behind bars. This will fund tough airport-style security, body scanners and phone-blocking technology.Table (xlsx, 11.0KB)

Prison Service: Pay

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect of market supplements for new staff on the levels of incentive to (a) move locations and (b) progress within the prison service.

Lucy Frazer: The market supplement was extended to other prisons that had a recruitment and retention challenge to ensure that staff do not move locations to access higher rates of pay. As a result of the introduction of the market supplement, we have changed our people policies to incentivise staff to apply for promotions and continue their careers in HMPPS.

Prison Service: Labour Turnover

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect on retention of experienced prison staff of instances where the payment of a market supplement to new staff makes new staff better remunerated.

Lucy Frazer: The market supplement was introduced in 2017 in 32 prisons and is being paid to all Band 3 Prison Officers on the Fair and Sustainable pay structures to ensure that new recruits are not better remunerated than our experienced staff.

Prison Service: Disclosure of Information

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2020 to Question 76676 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, how many cases are being managed within the existing whistleblowing process.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 1 September 2020 to Question 76676, what the average time was for a whistleblowing case under management within the existing whistleblowing process, for cases beginning in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018, (e) 2019 and (f) 2020 to date.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2020 to Question 76676, at what points during the existing whistleblowing process are (a) senior HMPPS officials, (b) senior Departmental officials, and (c) Ministers involved.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2020 to Question 76676, whether standards or targets have been set for the conclusion of whistleblowing cases within the existing whistleblowing process.

Lucy Frazer: There are currently no whistleblowing cases from prisons being managed through the existing whistleblowing process. The information requested on average times for whistleblowing cases is not currently held by the Ministry of Justice. The existing Ministry of Justice whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed and updated and as part of this process the Ministry of Justice are looking at improving the data recorded on whistleblowing cases. Staff should, in most instances, raise their concern with their line manager, however, if this is not appropriate or the concern is a serious matter that needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency, they can raise their concern with a more senior manager or with a Nominated Officer. If the employee believes the concern is extremely serious then they can raise their concern with the Permanent Secretary. The current MoJ Whistleblowing policy states that concerns raised with be dealt with as sensitively and as quickly as possible. The department will aim to update the employee on the progress of the concern within 28 days where possible. However, in the event of a formal investigation or the involvement of police/security, it may not be possible or appropriate to provide full details. The department will confirm when the matter is concluded and, if appropriate, the outcome of the investigation, maintaining security and confidentiality for all parties as far as possible.

Prison Service: Disclosure of Information

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 14 October to Question 99603, when the consultation with the Prison Officers’ Association is planned to commence.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 14 October 2020 to Question 99603 on Prisons: Disclosure of information, which (a) trade unions and (b) other sectoral organisations (i) have been or (ii) will be consulted.

Lucy Frazer: Consultation with HMPPS trade unions re-started, following a break due to the current pandemic, on 21st October 2020. Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison. Consultation and engagement has also taken place with diversity & inclusion colleagues, staff networks, nominated officers and counter corruption colleagues across the MoJ and HMPPS.

Prison Service: Labour Turnover

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on retention of experienced prison staff of the fitness test.

Lucy Frazer: Staff retention is monitored through a number of local and national processes. A retention programme is in place which reviews data and trends of staff leavers and uses exit interviews to understand the reasons for attrition. All prison officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer. Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level. Staff have three attempts to pass before a decision will be required on the individuals’ future which may mean dismissal on medical grounds or re-grading. Over the last five years 0.12% of all fitness tests undertaken have resulted in a third test failure. Following a review of the fitness test in 2017, a new reasonably adjusted test (the Chester treadmill walking test) was introduced which replaced the standard bleep test for staff with lower limb injuries. The bleep test pass level for specialist P.E officers was also reduced as result of this review. There are a number of other reasons affecting staff retention including resignations, retirement and ill-health. The retention programme is linked to wider activities including employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work to support retention.

Prison Service: Labour Turnover

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential effect of different policy options on levels of recruitment and retention among staff at prisons that are located close to but not within the London weighting qualifying area.

Lucy Frazer: We continue to review policies to ensure that they still meet business requirements. As a result, the performance of HMPPS recruitment has been strong over the past 18 months and we have had regional populated merit lists of eligible candidates for use as needed across all establishments. We have improved other policies to improve staff retention and to ensure that staff continue their career in HMPPS.

Prison Service: Labour Turnover

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he (a) holds information and (b) has received representations on increased recruitment and retention problems for prisons that are located close to but not within the London weighting qualifying area.

Lucy Frazer: My Department has received representations from prisons that are close to London on their challenge of recruiting and retaining prison staff.We have introduced several initiatives including financial rewards to address this issue.We are also investing in the development and training of our prison staff and the infrastructure of our prisons, which will empower the Prison Service to meet recruitment and retention challenges.

Prison Officers: Health

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of potential disparities in the proportion of band 3-5 prison officers over 60 years of age who have been unable to continue in their current role due to the fitness test.

Lucy Frazer: All prison officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer. Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level. Staff have three attempts to pass before a decision will be required on the individuals’ future which may mean dismissal on medical grounds or re-grading. For the year 2019 / 20, there were three Band 3 to 5 Prison Officers aged 60 and over who failed their fitness test after three attempts.

Prison Officers: Health

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of band 3-5 prison officers with (a) five to nine, (b) 10 to 14, (c) 15 to 19 and (d) more than 20 years' experience in the prison service have been unable to continue in their role as a result of the fitness test in the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: All prison officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer. Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level. Staff have three attempts to pass before a decision will be required on the individuals’ future which may mean dismissal on medical grounds or re-grading. For the last five years, we are able to give data on the number of people who have taken and failed their fitness test on the third attempt, as shown in table 1. The data held does not explain how many of these staff were re-graded or dismissed or the length of time they have spent in the service. Table 2 outlines the number of Band 3 to 5 members of staff who have left the service in the last five years, broken down by their length of service. This could be for a number of reasons, one of which could be that they failed their fitness test and were dismissed. Table 1 -Financial YearTotal Fitness Tests TakenThird Test Fails2015 - 201611,100122016 - 201710,790132017 - 201811,461162018 - 201914,838192019 - 202016,61424Total64,80384 Table 2 – GradeLength of Service (years)31-Mar-201631-Mar-201731-Mar-201831-Mar-201931-Mar-2020Band 3-5 Officers5-92172521591015710-1423331426425618715-1915815714316316720-2421019714314313425-2919322021315714730+116113135130171

Small Claims

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the small claims portal will be launched to the general public in 2021; what resources he has made available for communications to the public on how to make a minor injury claim under that new regime; and if he will he make a statement.

Chris Philp: As confirmed in a Written Ministerial statement on 21 April 2020 the Government remains committed to implementing the Whiplash Reform Programme by April 2021.The Portal will be accompanied by comprehensive and clear guidance for the public and if at any stage users need assistance, they can call a dedicated Portal Support Centre.We intend to engage with the public, third sector, representative organisations and professional users during the pre-launch, launch and post launch periods to ensure that those who need to access the service know how to do so.

Barristers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many criminal barristers there were in each of the last 10 years.

Alex Chalk: The legal services sector in England and Wales is independent of government. The Ministry of Justice does not currently hold this information. As part of the Criminal Legal Aid Review we have been working closely with the Legal Aid Agency, Bar Council and the Crown Prosecution Service to bring together a dataset on publicly funded criminal barristers. We intend to publish the results of this analysis during the next phase of the review.

Criminal Legal Aid Review

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Criminal Legal Aid Review Part 2 terms of reference are planned to be published.

Alex Chalk: We are working to ensure that the next phase of the criminal legal aid review, the Independent Review, is set up as quickly as possible. We are currently developing the Terms of Reference in coordination with stakeholders, including criminal defence practitioner representative bodies, and will publish these when the Independent Review is launched.

Criminal Legal Aid Review

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the appointment of the Chair of the Criminal Legal Aid Review Part 2 is planned to be announced.

Alex Chalk: We are working closely with stakeholders including the criminal defence representative bodies to ensure that the Independent Review is set up as quickly as possible and that we appoint the right chair and advisory panel so that the review can deliver a robust, evidence-based assessment of the criminal legal aid market.This means ensuring that the chair of the review has the right skillset, expertise and experience. At present, we are working to identify and appoint the right candidate for the role and will say more in due course.

Treasury

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of subsidising the employers' wage contribution element of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for businesses unable to trade in Northern Ireland between 17 October and 31 October 2020 before the Job Support Scheme is implemented.

Jesse Norman: The CJRS employer contributions are small in comparison to employee costs; if an average claim lasted 8 months, the total cost of employer contributions would represent about 5% of the total gross employment costs an employer would have incurred had the employee not been furloughed.For employers who may need more support, there is a range of continuing support including the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. For employees who may need more support, the Government has introduced temporary welfare measures including a £1,000 a year increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element.

Job Support Scheme

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expediting the implementation of the enhanced Job Support Scheme in areas where covid-19 restrictions have been escalated and businesses have closed.

Jesse Norman: Employers can use the furlough scheme until 31 October to help them through this difficult period and can then get support through the new Job Support Scheme from 1 November to ensure there is no gap in support, including in areas where COVID-19 restrictions have been increased and businesses closed. The scale of support that the Job Support Scheme provides has also been increased to reflect the evolving situation. This is just one part of a wider package of support for livelihoods across the UK including rental support, mortgage holidays, and extra funding for the welfare safety net to help those without access to other forms of support.

Sports: VAT

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing temporary VAT registration for non-profit sports organisations.

Jesse Norman: Under the current VAT rules, bodies that have a turnover in excess of £85,000 must register for VAT. However, bodies that are below the VAT registration threshold may register for VAT voluntarily. Bodies that are VAT registered are required to charge VAT and are also able to recover any VAT costs that they incur in the course of their taxable business activities.

Job Support Scheme

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what communications are required from employers with their employees who will be placed on the Job Support Scheme for the purposes of (a) record-keeping, (b) administration and (c) claims.

Jesse Norman: To support individuals and businesses to deal with the challenges created by coronavirus during this winter, the Government is providing additional support to help employers retain their employees through the Job Support Scheme. The scheme will open on 1 November 2020 and run for 6 months. Employers will be able to make a claim online through GOV.UK from 8 December 2020. Communications requirements from employers with employees on the Job Support Scheme are set out in the policy paper published on 22 October: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-job-support-scheme/the-job-support-scheme. HMRC will publish further guidance by the end of October.

Taxis: VAT

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with independent taxi operators on reducing VAT to five per cent.

Jesse Norman: The current structure of VAT rates raises a significant amount of revenue for the Government, raising over £130 billion in 2018/19. This plays an important part in funding the Government's spending priorities including hospitals, schools, and defence. Changes to the current rate of VAT on the transport service provided by independent taxi operators would come at a cost to the Exchequer, and that cost would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere, or reductions in public spending. Although the Government keeps all taxes under review, the Government has no current plans to change the VAT treatment of such goods.

Beekeeping: Equipment

Luke Pollard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to adjust the rate of VAT applied to bee keeping equipment after the end of the transition period.

Jesse Norman: VAT is a broad based tax on consumption and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including on equipment used for bee keeping. Businesses that are registered for VAT will usually be able to reclaim the VAT they incur when they purchase these items for business purposes. Changing the rate of VAT on bee keeping equipment would come at a cost to the Exchequer. Although the Government keeps all taxes under review, the Government has no current plans to change the VAT treatment of such goods.

Food: Wholesale Trade

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend business rates relief to wholesalers servicing public sector food and drink contracts.

Jesse Norman: The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. Business rates are devolved in Wales, and so are a matter for the Welsh Government. A range of further measures to support all businesses, including wholesalers, has also been made available.

Self-employed: Coronavirus

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support self-employed people not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

Jesse Norman: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is helping those that have been adversely affected by COVID-19, and has already provided over £13 billion of support. Those not eligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented package of financial support available. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants. All 11 million UK self-assessment taxpayers will also be able to benefit from the recently enhanced Time to Pay ‘self-service’ facility to form a 12-month, interest-free payment arrangement for up to £30,000 of self-assessment debt. Furthermore, the Chancellor has announced additional funding to support cash grants of up to £2,100 per month primarily for businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector who may be adversely affected by the restrictions in high-alert level areas. These grants will be available retrospectively for areas which have already been subject to restrictions, and come on top of higher levels of additional business support for Local Authorities moving into Tier 3 which, if scaled up across the country, would be worth more than £1 billion. These grants could benefit about 150,000 businesses in England, including hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and many more which are not legally required to close but have been adversely affected nonetheless by local restrictions.

Job Support Scheme

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Job Support Scheme will be based on the percentage of monthly hours worked and not weekly hours worked as per the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Jesse Norman: Details of the Job Support Scheme are set out in the JSS Policy Paper published on 22 October 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-job-support-scheme/the-job-support-scheme. Further details will be set out in full guidance shortly.

Agriculture: Diversification

Jane Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the fiscal framework on farmers who have diversified from farming activity.

Jesse Norman: A longstanding feature of the UK tax system is that a person’s UK farming income is treated as one trade. When a farming business diversifies, any non-farming activities are treated as separate sources of income that need to be declared separately on the tax return. The Government recognises that this creates additional administrative burdens. However, taxing diversified rural businesses as one unit would carry a risk that uncommercial activities might be grouped together with profitable trades. The Government keeps all taxes under review but has no plans to change the current tax rules for diversified rural businesses.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Diplomatic Service

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance issued to staff when assessing whether people need consular assistance.

Nigel Adams: I was pleased to meet with the Hon Lady on 19th October to discuss the FCDO's consular work.As part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) commitment to transparency, details of FCDO's consular assistance are available online on http://www.gov.uk in our publication entitled "Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide". We consider that there is a strong public interest in protecting the space our staff have to consider and discuss options when making decisions on individual cases, particularly when offering assistance in difficult and distressing circumstances. We consider that their ability to do this, and our overall ability to ensure that we provide a tailored service to those most in need of our help, is likely to be negatively impacted by placing our internal guidance in the Library, which would not be in the public interest.

Diplomatic Service

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the codification of the provision of consular services.

Nigel Adams: I was pleased to meet with the Honourable Lady on 19th October to discuss the FCDO's consular work.There are no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make consular assistance a legal right. Even if a right to assistance were to be enshrined in UK law, our ability to assist British nationals abroad would continue to remain dependent on co-operation from host countries and local laws. While there is no duty in international or domestic law to provide consular assistance, we strive to provide the right tailored assistance to those who need our help, doing more for those who most need our help.

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the written statement of 7 July 2020, Official Report, cols 32-34WS, what assessment he made of the Saudi-led coalition’s (a) documented targeting of and (b) restriction of access to food, water and medicine as objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population in Yemen when concluding that the coalition had the capacity and intent to comply with international humanitarian law.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of (a) whether the Saudi-led coalition’s documented use of (i) rockets and mortars and (ii) other indirect-fire weapon systems with wide-area impact is indicative of that coalition’s capacity and intent to comply with Article 51(4) of the 1977 Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions and (b) the implications for her policies on arms export controls of the conclusion of that initial assessment.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of (a) whether the Saudi-led coalition’s documented use of physical and mental torture and other forms of ill-treatment against prisoners detained during conflict is indicative of that coalition’s capacity and intent to comply with Article 19 of the Geneva Conventions and (b) the implications for her policies on arms export controls of the conclusions of that initial assessment.

James Cleverly: The Government takes extremely seriously allegations of international humanitarian law violations and access restrictions. The UK urges the parties to the conflict to investigate these allegations and take action to uphold their commitments under international humanitarian law.

Integrated Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy Review

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether as part of the integrated review of foreign policy, defence, security and development he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the 2019 All-party Parliamentary Group on Deaths Abroad report entitled Why UK families deserve better and what can be done.

Nigel Adams: As discussed during the meeting I held with the Honourable Lady on 19th October, we have carefully considered the feedback in the APPG's report and will be pleased to issue a response in the coming weeks. Consular assistance continues to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from anywhere in the world, by phone, online and via social media. We will continue our focus on those British nationals overseas who are the most vulnerable, training expert frontline staff to provide assistance in country and offering a wider choice of digital services where these can be provided more effectively online.

Travel Information: Coronavirus

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the advice given to travellers and holidaymakers is clear and up to date for every destination abroad during the covid-19 pandemic.

Nigel Adams: FCDO travel advice remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals and has the key information and advice they need to plan travel. In making decisions about travel advice, the FCDO considers the scientific evidence. Each country and territory is assessed individually. Public Health England and the National Travel Health Network and Centre, the organisations mandated to provide health advice to British nationals travelling overseas, assess the risk to an individual of exposure to the virus in each destination. This assessment is based on a number of key indicators, including virus incidence rates, trends in incidence and deaths, testing capacity, test positivity rates, and other international epidemic intelligence. We also draw on the latest reporting from our network of embassies and high commissions to take account of other risks related to the pandemic.

Diplomatic Service

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to ensure joint working between his Department and the Ministry of Justice on complex consular cases involving suspicious deaths, homicide and incarceration overseas similar to the Forced Marriage Unit collaboration between his Department and the Home Office.

Nigel Adams: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) works closely with other departments, including the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to provide consular assistance to British nationals overseas. The FCDO and MoJ work collaboratively in supporting victims bereaved by suspicious death and homicides abroad through our funded partner Victim Support Homicide Service. To support British nationals detained overseas and their families, the FCDO works closely with the NGOs Prisoners Abroad, the Death Penalty Project and Reprieve.

Diplomatic Service: Dual Nationality

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of treating dual nationals as it does people with non-dual nationality status for the purposes of consular support.

Nigel Adams: We are able to provide full consular support to dual British nationals in a third country (a country of which they are not a national). We would not normally provide consular support to dual British nationals in the country of their other nationality, or get involved in dealings between the individual and the authorities of that state. We may make an exception to this rule if, depending on the circumstances of the case, we consider that the individual is vulnerable and we have humanitarian concerns, for example cases involving a murder or manslaughter, children, forced marriage or an offence which carries the death penalty. However, the help we can provide will depend on the circumstances and the state of the British national's other nationality agreeing to our help.

Department for Work and Pensions

Food Poverty: Coronavirus

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on trends in the level of food insecurity among children since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: This Government is committed to supporting the most vulnerable in society. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions engages regularly with her counterparts, including the Secretary of State for Education. Secretaries of State will continue to talk across government to ensure all the levers available are used to tackle poverty, including for the most disadvantaged children and families. The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs also established a cross-government Task Force on Food and Other Essential Supplies for Vulnerable People. We have taken unprecedented action to support and protect jobs, with over 9.5 million people having been supported through the furlough scheme. The Department for Work and Pensions quickly introduced a package of support, including welfare changes worth £9.3bn this year to help people with the financial consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government established a £500m local authority hardship fund to protect people, by banning evictions, securing mortgage holidays and helping with energy bills. It has provided a further £63m to local authorities in England for their Welfare Assistance schemes to help those families struggling to afford food and other essentials.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Incinerators

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the former Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of 9 May 2019, Official Report, column 643, whether it remains his Department’s assessment that additional residual waste energy capacity above that already planned to 2020 should not be needed.

Rebecca Pow: In developing our Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS), my department considered the amount of residual waste treatment capacity that will be required for England to avoid any negative impact on future recycling ambitions and the major waste reforms we are implementing. The assessment concluded that significant additional residual waste energy recovery capacity such as incineration or advanced conversion technologies – above that already operating or planned to 2020 – would not necessarily be needed to meet an ambition of no more than 10% municipal waste to landfill by 2035, if a 65% municipal recycling rate is achieved by that same year. This assumed refuse derived fuel exports remain at 2018 levels. However, if energy recovery continues to provide a better environmental alternative to landfill, more investment to reduce tonnages of municipal waste to landfill further would deliver environmental benefits. In accordance with the commitment given in the RWS we continue to monitor residual waste infrastructure and will publish an updated assessment in the coming months.

Green Recovery Challenge Fund

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications have been made to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund; and what amount of that funding has been applied for to date.

Rebecca Pow: The £40 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund is a short-term competitive fund that will kick-start environmental renewal whilst creating and retaining jobs in the conservation sector across England. The fund was launched on 14 September and is being delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. There are separate application processes for grants of over £250,000 and grants of under £250,000. Applicants for the larger grants were required to submit an Expression of Interest in advance of a full application.We have received 202 Expressions of Interest, totalling £270.6 million. 56 of these, totalling £72.1 million, have been invited to submit full applications for the larger grant size. For the smaller grant size, 565 applications were received, totalling £97.4 million.I am very pleased that the fund has received such a high level of interest. Defra, National Lottery Heritage Fund and our ALBs are working very hard to complete the assessment process and ensure this money is made available as soon as possible to kick start projects on the ground this winter. This will support our ambitions for a green recovery, delivering nature and climate projects while creating and retaining jobs across the country.

Game: Animal Welfare

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to encourage the use of alternatives to cages on farms that breed partridges and pheasants.

Victoria Prentis: We are committed to maintaining our position as world leaders in animal welfare and want to improve and build upon that record, working in partnership with farmers to support healthier, higher welfare animals. We are exploring options with all the industry sectors, including the gamebird industry, to see how welfare standards can be further enhanced and in a way that is sustainable. The welfare of gamebirds is currently protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering. This is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes, which encourages the adoption of high standards of husbandry.

Home Office

Police: Training

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to support the mentoring of new officers by experienced officers in the police force.

Kit Malthouse: Training and development for new officers, including mentoring programmes, are carried out in forces in line with national standards set by the College of Policing. We are making £700m additional funding available for PCCs in 2020-21, with a further £50m to be spent on national programmes supporting Police Uplift Programme. This includes the cost of training and induction for new officers to ensure they receive the right level of support on joiningWe welcome the work being done by the College of Policing to strengthen leadership and supervision standards at all levels, particularly in support of officers on the frontline – this includes mentoring programmes and a tutor constable programme to ensure new officers receive the support they need.

Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in England and Wales were (a) cautioned, (b) reprimanded and (c) dismissed for viewing political or religious extremist material online in 2018-19.

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in England and Wales were (a) cautioned, (b) reprimanded and (c) dismissed for being members of proscribed religious or political organisations in 2018-19.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the outcome of misconduct proceedings and criminal investigations involving officers, including the number of officers that have been dismissed following proceedings. However, information on a) the number of police officers issued with a police caution and b) the circumstances that led to a case being brought is not collected centrally by the Home OfficeThe data on the outcomes following misconduct proceedings, which covers cases in the year ending March 2019, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2019.The College of Policing publish data annually relating to those who have been dismissed from policing and placed on the Police Barred List. There are no categories specifically on extremist material or being members of proscribed organisations but, between April 2018 and March 2019, 17 officers were dismissed under the category of ‘notifiable association’. This data is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/News/College-news/Documents/Barred_List_2019.pdf.

Immigration: Coronavirus

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the decision to allow biometric information submitted as part of a person’s previous immigration application to be reused in further applications will continue following the covid-19 outbreak.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has begun to reuse previously enrolled biometrics in limited circumstances where they are suitable for such use. This includes some students who apply for visas under the new points-based immigration system, to manage the specific demand placed on our resources and to free up biometric enrolment facilities for other applicants. We will consider how best to widen our use of previously enrolled biometrics in due course.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the Government's migration policy on the status of EU nationals currently working in the UK as au pairs.

Kevin Foster: EU citizens currently in or resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, including those working as Au Pairs, can apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme, to enable them to continue living and working in the UK after 30 June 2021 in the same way as they do now.

Asylum: Interviews

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of using third-party suppliers for asylum interviews on the level of outstanding asylums (a) claims and (b) interviews.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the ability of third party suppliers to conduct asylum interviews effectively.

Chris Philp: Asylum Operations are exploring many options to reduce the number of outstanding asylum claims. Alongside seeking temporary resource from within the Home Office and other government departments, we are also exploring with third-party suppliers, through a proof of concept, to test the viability of whether they can deliver the support required as a temporary, short term measure. An eight-week controlled mobilisation of testing has been confirmed. Once we have completed the proof of concept exercise, an evaluation will be completed, and this will inform any further recommendations or actions.Asylum interviews have not been outsourced, and at this stage we are only exploring the potential feasibility. The increased interview throughput will help rebalance the system, but also speed up decision making, reduce the number of outstanding cases and support costs.Asylum Operations will be looking to source resource with the right competency and recent experience in conducting sensitive interviews. To ensure external suppliers are suitably equipped to carry out the role, third-party interviewing officers will complete a bespoke training package, delivered by the qualified asylum operations training team, that has been designed specifically to meet their needs. Anyone who conducts asylum interviews receives thorough training to ensure they are fully equipped for the role.To guarantee governance and accountability, mechanisms are in place for the oversight of third-party interviews, the department has a quality assurance process which assesses the quality of decisions, interviews and the application of Home Office policy.

Asylum: Coronavirus

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will suspend evictions for people who have been refused asylum in response to the three-tier covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has started cessations of support in a phased way which will reduce demand on the asylum system while prioritising the safety of those within the asylum system. This means moving people out of Home Office accommodation and ending subsistence payments from the Home Office.For those whose asylum claims have been rejected and appeal rights exhausted, they will be expected to leave the country, assistance is available to those who opt to leave voluntarily. The Voluntary Returns Scheme will pay for travel and provide a cash amount, and this can and should be utilised whenever possible.People who are awaiting a Covid test result should not be asked to leave their current dwelling until they receive a negative test result and are symptom free and that those self-isolating due to a positive test result should adhere to the full 14-day self-isolation period for close contacts.These factors, applied to an individual case, might mean that a failed asylum seeker continues to be eligible to receive support because they are unable to leave the UK or take the necessary practical steps to enable them to leave (for example by attending an interview for the purposes of obtaining a necessary travel document).We continue to consult public health officials in relation to the application of relevant guidance for supported asylum seekers.

Home Office: Twitter

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process of clearance each post for her Department's Twitter account goes through; and what the grade is of the officials who provide sign off on each of those posts.

Chris Philp: Tweets are drafted by the Communications Team and signed off by a manager at grade 7 or above.Tweets containing new or updated messaging or content are then cleared by ministerial private offices and/or special advisers prior to publication.

Asylum: Offenders

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the tweet on foreign national offenders published by her Department on 9 October 2020, what representations she has received on the potential conflation of the UK's asylum system and the deportation of offenders from EU countries (a) in that tweet and (b) in her Department's social media strategy.

Chris Philp: The Home Office makes no apology for deporting Foreign National Offenders; it is right that we do so.This tweet referred to two different groups.The first group were foreign national offenders who broke our laws and abused our values, who we successfully returned to Lithuania. We are grateful for the ongoing close cooperation of our Lithuanian partners in tackling crime, and for their specific cooperation in this instance which was essential for the removal of the foreign national offenders mentioned in the tweet.The second group was made up of migrants from outside the European Economic Area who had already claimed asylum in Italy, and who we planned to return under the Dublin Regulation. The Italy leg of the flight did not take place and our efforts to return those who arrived on small boats via illegally-facilitated routes were frustrated by legal claims.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of her use of the phrase activist lawyers on the personal safety of immigration solicitors.

Chris Philp: The Government rejects the underlying insinuation of this question. Lawyers play an important role in upholding the law and ensuring people have access to justice. They are however, just like politicians, not immune from criticism.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support is being provided to local police forces to help the enforcement of changing and complex covid-19 restrictions.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has been clear that it will provide police forces with the support they need to continue protecting the public and keeping communities safe through the coronavirus pandemic.The Government has moved quickly to give the police the powers and guidance they need to support compliance with essential measures on social distancing. The department continues to work closely with our operational partners to ensure the new changes are understood by police forces around the country. The police have been kept updated on these changes as we act quickly to address the public health risk.On 8 October the Government announced an additional £30m for police forces in England and Wales to step up their enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions through the autumn and winter months.The department continues to work closely with the policing sector to monitor and make decisions on their current and future needs.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Urban Areas: Finance

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for further Town Deals in addition to the (a) Towns Fund and (b) Future High Street programmes.

Luke Hall: I am delighted that Blackpool in my Honourable friend’s constituency is one of the initial places that yesterday had its Town Deal offer announced for a transformative funding package worth up to £39.5 million. This Town Deal will help give a new lease of life to much loved tourist attractions as well as supporting the local business community to grow and thrive.My officials are continuing to review Blackpool’s Future High Street Fund bid and I hope to make an announcement later in the Autumn.In due course we will bring forward a further competitive round of the Towns Fund, building on lessons learned from the first Town Deals and Future High Streets Fund. We want to make sure that more places can benefit from investment that will improve our towns and high streets and drive long-term economic growth.

Cabinet Office

Royal British Legion: Social Clubs

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what financial support is available to Royal British Legion social clubs during the covid-19 outbreak.

Johnny Mercer: The Government has provided service charities with financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure the support being delivered by these crucial organisations can continue. In addition to the normal lines of funding offered to the service charity sector, the Government has made available £6million through the Covid-19 Impact Fund. This has been distributed to 100 charities, including the Royal British Legion. RBL social clubs may also apply for grants from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

Veterans

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department last met with representatives of each of the devolved Administrations to discuss the implementation of the 10 year Veterans Strategy.

Johnny Mercer: The 2018 Strategy for our Veterans is the UK’s commitment to those who have served in the Armed Forces. Each nation in the Union is responsible for delivering the outcomes for veterans contained in the Strategy.Officials regularly engage with counterparts in the Devolved Administrations to discuss progress made on the delivery of their respective Strategy action plans and wider veterans matters. I have also met ministerial counterparts from the Scottish and Welsh Government this year to discuss veterans issues including the Strategy.

Department for International Trade

Generalised System of Preferences

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2020 to Question 27946 on Generalised System of Preferences, what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of the UK Global Tariff in January 2021 on the margin of preference available to countries operating under (a) The General Framework for low and lower-middle income countries that receive the EU’s standard Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), (b) The Enhanced Framework for vulnerable low and lower-middle income countries that are part of the EU’s GSP+ and (c) The Least Developed Country Framework for least developed countries which currently benefit from the EU’s Everything But Arms.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2020 to Question 27946 on Generalised System of Preferences, what estimate she has made of the effect of the introduction of the UK Global Tariff in January 2021 on trends in the level of export quantity from countries operating under (a) The General Framework for low and lower-middle income countries that receive the EU’s standard Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), (b) The Enhanced Framework for vulnerable low and lower-middle income countries that are part of the EU’s GSP+ and (c) The Least Developed Country Framework for least developed countries which currently benefit from the EU’s Everything But Arms.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2020 to Question 27946 on Generalised System of Preferences, what assessment she had made of the potential effect of the introduction of (a) alternative customs procedures, (b) rules of origin requirements, (c) UK border checks and (d) other non-tariff barriers after the end of the transition period on countries operating under (i) The General Framework for low and lower-middle income countries that receive the EU’s standard Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), (i) The Enhanced Framework for vulnerable low and lower-middle income countries that are part of the EU’s GSP+ and (ii) The Least Developed Country Framework for least developed countries which currently benefit from the EU’s Everything But Arms.

Greg Hands: When developing the UK Global Tariff (UKGT), we considered products that are particularly important for developing countries, and where tariffs could be retained to maintain preference margins for developing countries, including those benefitting from Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). Tariffs have therefore been retained, ensuring continued preferential access for GSP countries, on products that are particularly important for developing countries. For example, tariffs have largely been retained on textiles and apparel, goods which made up almost a third of the United Kingdom's £25 billion of imports from GSP countries in 2019. The United Kingdom GSP ensures that developing countries will continue to have preferential access to the United Kingdom compared to countries facing the UKGT. To ensure consistency for developing countries after the Transition Period, the United Kingdom GSP will replicate the EU GSP rules of origin where possible. This will include, unilaterally, allowing developing countries to continue to use content originating from the EU in their exports to the UK. In line with the United Kingdom commitment at the World Trade Organisation to reduce the administrative burden for Least Developed Countries, the United Kingdom GSP will maintain a self-certification proof of origin. HM Revenue and Customs are also considering other methods to streamline customs procedures.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Job Support Scheme

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether companies in the (a) events and exhibitions sectors and (b) sports stadia are eligible to access the Job Support Scheme for their employees due to restrictions on those sectors reopening during the covid-19 outbreak; and when his Department plans to publish further sector-specific guidance for the application of the Job Support Scheme to those sectors.

Nigel Huddleston: On 9 October the Chancellor announced a further expansion to the package of financial support available to businesses across the UK. This includes an expansion of the Job Support Scheme (JSS) to cover 61.67% of wages for open businesses, an increase to self-employed grants, additional business grants, and an extension of the VAT reduction to 5%. This is an addition to the measures outlined on 24 September, which is intended to cover businesses closed by national and local restrictions. Individual businesses will need to evaluate the applicability of these schemes based on their own financial circumstance.The Treasury has published a JSS policy paper (which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-job-support-scheme/the-job-support-scheme) , giving further details on eligibility criteria, conditions and timescales for making claims under the JSS Open and the JSS Closed. Further guidance will be published shortly.

Sports: Coronavirus

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the role of (a) Government and (b) professional sporting governing bodies in providing financial support to financially stricken sports clubs during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses throughout the pandemic, including a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. Many sports clubs have benefited from these measures. Where it can, we will expect the top tiers of professional sport to look at ways in which it can support itself, with government focusing on those most in need. I also welcomed the Premier League announcement to advance funds of £125 million to the EFL and National League to help clubs throughout the football pyramid and encourage the ongoing discussions The Government recognises the impact that Covid-19 is having on the sporting sector, and has supported elite sports to return to "behind closed doors" competition, which enabled vital broadcast revenue, retained competitive integrity and brought joy to millions of sports fans. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what can be done to provide further support. The Department will also continue to work with colleagues across Whitehall to support the sector.

Public Sector: Artificial Intelligence

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure AI used in public services operates on the same principles of responsibility, transparency, and security as other local government activities.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to launch AI registers that track how algorithms are being used locally.

Mr John Whittingdale: Local Government’s use of AI and Algorithms is currently not that widespread; in the few cases where the technology is used, it is used to aid decision making and not make decisions.We are aware of the emerging importance of AI and algorithms, and we encourage local government to use the government guidance document ‘A guide to using artificial intelligence in the public sector’, when utilising this technology.